Sanibel Island Light House, Beach and other sites

Sanibel Lighthouse 

Sanibel Lighthouse 

Sanibel Lighthouse

The first permanent English-speaking settlers on Sanibel Island arrived from New York in 1833 as part of a colony planned by land investors. Although that settlement was short-lived, the initial colonists petitioned the U. S. government for the construction of a lighthouse on the island. No action was taken on that proposal at the time. By the late 1870s, sea-going commerce in the area had increased in volume. The U. S. Lighthouse Bureau took the initiative in requesting funds for a lighthouse for Sanibel Island, and in 1884, construction of the tower began. The station was lighted for the first time in August 1884. The significance of the Sanibel Lighthouse lies in the regular and reliable service it has provided for travelers along Florida's West Coast. Since 1950, the U. S. Coast Guard property at the lighthouse has been a wildlife refuge.

Beautiful sunset

Umbrellas on the beach 

Natures Landlord

NATURE'S LANDLORD 

Gopher tortoise Gopherus Polyphemus

Adult

Identification 

length 8-15 inches (20-38cm)

weight: up to 30lbs (14 kg) average 8-10lbs (4-5kg)

color: adults are grayish-brown, and juveniles are a yellowish-brown

Legs and feet: front legs and feet are flat and shovel-like which helps them dig their burrows, back legs, and feet are elephantine.

No webbing is present between toes.

Habitat 

Three key requirements

1. Dry upland habitat with sandy, well-drained soils for ideal burrowing and nesting.

2. Open the tree canopy so that plenty of sunlight reaches the ground.

3. Low-growing food plants for their herbaceous (plant-only)  diet including gopher apple and purple love grass.

Reproduction

Mating Season: April through July

Females reach between 10 and 20 years old.

Females lay a clutch of 4-7 ping-pong ball-sized eggs which are buried in the ground.

Gestation:80-100 days

Sex is determined by the temperature of the soil. Eggs. F 85 (30C) develops into females, and <F 85 develops into males.

Hatchlings are 1-2 inches (3-5cm) and grow 3/4 inches a year.

Keystone Species

Gopher tortoise burrow provides a home and refuge to over 350 vertebrate and invertebrate species.

Many share the burrow with the tortoise or use abandoned burrows.

Burrow 

Used to regulate body temperature and as shelter from predators and wildfires. 

Up to 50ft (15 m) long and 15ft (5 m) deep, depending on the water table. The width is about the length of the tortoise.

The Aron (or Mound) in front of the burrow is often used as the nesting site.

Multiple burrows may be used by individual tortoises.

Burrows provide shelter from the heat, cold, fire, and a safe place to raise young.

Why did the gopher tortoise cross the road?

To get to the other side! probable to graze

What can you do to help?

Watch the road for crossing tortoises

do not take or move them

Plant native plants in their habitat.

If you find them near water, leave them on land.

Cool facts

They live for more than 89 years.

They right themselves if flipped over.

They socialize in groups called pods.

They eat bones from dead animals, presumably to get calcium

they dig up to 9ft a day in sandy soils

They have a good sense of smell.

Conservation & Status

Gopher tortoises are a protected species

Their populations are declining due to habitat loss and fragmentation, disease, vehicle strikes, and predation by invasive species.

Gopher Tortoise Crossing
Tortoises are fairly abundant on Sanibel Island due to decades of conservation.

The gopher tortoise is strictly a land animal. It is related to the Galapagos tortoise, which can grow to 880 pounds and is also terrestrial. The easiest way to distinguish the gopher tortoise from another turtle is by its high, dark, rounded shell and its front feet, which are spade-like with heavy protective scales.

The gopher tortoise is known to stop traffic on occasion as it forages. If you discover a turtle or tortoise crossing a road and are unsure what kind it is, take it to the edge of the road and let it continue on but do not release it into any body of water. There is an empty shell at the Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife (CROW) on Sanibel from a gopher tortoise that was placed into the Gulf of Mexico by a well-meaning but seriously misguided tourist who found it browsing on beach-dune vegetation and thought it was a lost sea turtle. The combination of saltwater and wave action quickly drowned the poor gopher tortoise.

Welcome to the Sanibel Historical Museum & Village
was founded in 1984. The story is told from the Calusa and Spanish eras to the early pioneer families who settled on the island in the 1800s. It tells of warriors, adventurers, fishermen, farmers, and proprietors.
Shore Haven 1924, Morning Glories Cottage 1926, Bailey's General Store 1927, Bailey's Model T Garage, Post Office 1926, Parking House, Miss Charlotta's Tea Room 1926, Burnap Cottage 1898, Restrooms, The School House 1896, Rutland House 1915
Open Tuesdays thru Saturday

Bailey-Matthew National Shell Museum

The National Shell Museum is the leading authority on Sanibel and Captive Shells.  They offer information on how, and where to look for shells, and how to clean and transport them.
Exotic shells from around the globe, World Record Size Shells, Sailor's Valentines, Fascinating Fossils, Live Mollusk Tanks, Predators and Prey, Hands-on Learning Lab.

Bailey-Matthew National Shell Museum

SCCF

Over 65,000 people each year are reached through our educational offerings. These include tours, talks, landscaping for wildlife, classed special events, lectures, cruises, house calls, kayak adventures, orientation for new land residents, and outreach to schools. Please join one of our programs. 

SCCF
The Sanibel Captive Conservation Foundation is dedicated to the conservation of coastal habitats and aquatic resources on Sanibel and Captiva and in the surrounding watershed. SCCF manages over 1300 acres of land on the islands.